Jon Stewart stressed that Donald Trump isn’t the man for the moment when asked if it’s “fitting or disturbing” that he’s the president on America’s 250th birthday.
Stewart's Response
“Oh, God. Fitting or — wait, what? Fitting? It’s not fitting. Trump as president is not befitting of a country,” began Stewart on this week’s episode of his “Weekly Show” podcast.
Stewart, who spoke to historians David Blight and Annette Gordon-Reed earlier in the show, described the discussion as touching on “this grand experiment of exceptionalism, of a creed that a people must strive morally and aspirationally to get to.”
Trump Enterprises
“And now we’re just a subsidiary of Trump Enterprises,” said Stewart of a president who has used the country’s big birthday to celebrate himself and his friends.
He then added, “It’s — he can’t be the guy at the 250. It’s such the wrong —.” He stopped himself short before likening the country to a “long-running” Broadway show.
Broadway Comparison
“We’re like, it’s 250 years of ‘Cats.’ But now instead of the big stars that were there, now it’s just like, from ‘Summer House’ — that’s where we’re at,” Stewart said. “We’re at the replacement-level, reality TV star taking over a hallowed institution.”
He continued to riff, “And the audience is on their phones going, ‘I remember when I saw this with Matthew Broderick. It was great. It was great. And now this guy doesn’t even know how to sing.’”
